Funding is requested for the NFIC Research Conference entitled "Future Research Approaches to IBD: Mechanisms of Chronic Infection and Inflammation in IBD" to be held October 7-11, 1987 at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The conference is under the auspices of the National Foundation for Ileitis and Colitis. Conference attendance will be limited to 150 participants. There will be a keynote symposium, 7 major scientific sessions which will involve oral presentations and open discussions, as well as poster sessions and concurrent round table workshops. This conference will focus on the mechanisms of chronic inflammation and infection which may be related to the pathogenesis and treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Symposia topics will include: Mucosal mast cells and mediators of inflammation; Peptides and the immune response; Cytokines and cellular regulation of B cell function; Recent advances in chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases other than IBD; Mediators of inflammation and immunopharmacology; Biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology related to IBD; Host defense mechanisms and chronic viral infections; Mycobacteria and chronic bacterial infections. The conference will provide an unique opportunity for interaction between basic scientists, whose work is unrelated to the intestine in fields such as microbiology, pharmacology, molecular biology, biochemistry and immunology, and investigators who are currently active in related aspects of IBD research. This interactive environment should stimulate current IBD research efforts and help to identify new and more productive directions for future research.